Monica's Story
As Founding Director, Monica is a hands-on manager. She guarantees our standards and ensures quality of service remains excellent.
This British citizen of Indian descent graduated in Psychoanalytic Observation of Young Children, and Modern Languages. She studied the available research in neurosciences which show the pivotal importance of settings in caregiving. This psychoanalytical point of view remained with Monica when building Children First: the setting surrounding the child is thoroughly thought, from staff selection criteria to the colour of the doors. As for Modern Languages and research on bilingualism, they gave Monica confidence to start training children in more than one language.
At university in 1986, Monica volunteered at the Joint Action Committee Against Racial Intolerance (JACARI). In the outskirts of Oxford, she taught reading to Bangladeshi children from disadvantaged families. This experience motivated Monica to aim at a career rectifying imbalance in educational opportunities in schools.
As part of her very first job, she visited American schools in poor neighbourhoods. The atmosphere was incredible: positive, combative, academically demanding, fulfilling, supporting, warm – empowering! The local community had made this happen with a strong intention and support. Monica brought this back to the UK and spread the model among the public education system. Until today, the desire to spread good practices across borders is a strong motivation for Monica, as is her know-how in assembling new curricula.
Later, managing the MAYA Centre in London, Monica witnessed first-hand the strain communities experience when relocated to a new country. Monica found herself in the same situation when she then moved to Bern, Switzerland. Isolated, not speaking the language, with a child, unaware of the best educational path, needing assistance mentally and physically. She had a taste of her own medicine and found the resources to make it work! And so will you: parents, ask for help! That is okay!
Empowered by these life experiences, Monica authored the book Working with Parents in 2001 and founded Children First in 2006, which she continues to oversee to this day.
This is why we advocate for early education, the golden age of learning and development.
